Pat Mora's Children's Literature

"For the ladybug that landed on my finger, a little red flying surprise, thanks." So begins Pat's bilingual picture book, Gracias * Thanks. Her award-winning children's books include A Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas. Her new book for teens is Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems about Love. Her books for adults include Zing! Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students; House of Houses, a memoir; Nepantla: Essays from the Land in the Middle and six poetry collections.

Pat's haiku collection about foods of the Americas, Yum! ¡Mmm! ¡Qué Rico!, won the Américas Award and was an ALA Notable Book. Doña Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart was an ALA Notable Book which received a Pura Belpré Author Honor Award and a Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

A literacy advocate excited about sharing what she calls "bookjoy," Pat founded the family literacy initiative, El día de los niños / El día de los libros, Children's Day / Book Day ("Día") , now housed at the American Library Association. The year-long commitment to daily linking all children to books, languages and cultures culminates in celebrations across the country on or near April 30th. Her book, Book Fiesta, promotes the Día spirit.

Pat's honors include Honorary Doctorates from North Carolina State University and SUNY Buffalo, Honorary Membership in the American Library Association, a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship to write in Umbria, Italy; and a Visiting Carruthers Chair at the University of New Mexico. She was a recipient and judge of a Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a recipient and advisor of the Kellogg National Leadership Fellowships.

A former teacher, university administrator, museum director, and consultant, Pat is a popular national speaker at conferences, campuses, libraries and schools. The mother of three adult children, she is married to Vern Scarborough and lives in Santa Fe, NM.